Guide to Dyeing Yarn Using Natural Dyeing Techniques

Natural dyeing can be as simple as collecting tansy leaves from your garden or old tea from your cupboard, placing it and a skein of yarn in a canning jar filled with water out on your porch on a sunny day. Of course, it can be more involved as well—it depends on what colors you're looking for, the fibers you are dyeing, and the pH levels in your water supply.

There are basic rules to dyeing: know your dye, know your fiber, and know your water. This free eBook is an essential guide whether you're a beginner or are experienced in dyeing. Dive into the basics of hand dyeing yarn and understand the different approaches depending on the fiber, from cotton to wool. Inside you'll find:

• Introduction to Natural Dyes - Discover safety essentials, set up, materials, and fiber preparations required for working with natural dyes for wool, cotton, and many more.

• Color from Weeds - During her gardening studies, Ruggles stumbled across important and interesting knowledge about weeds. Thus began a two-year exploration of dyeing yarn with weeds.

• Dyeing with Black Walnuts - Homesteader, Elizabeth Fahey, dyes wool with walnuts over an open fire to make her family handspun, handknitted, naturally dyed socks. This is the dye that is her delight.

• In Hot Water: Experiments with Natural Springs and Vegetable Dyes - Glenna wanted to know how cotton could be dyed so that colors remain bright after some 700 years (like the ancient textiles found in the south western United States). She decided to explore the dye potential of the natural springs and various mineral waters in her area.

• Sun-Kissed Dyeing: Achieving Beautiful Colors with Solar Power - Learn from an expert in solar dyeing, Jeannine Bakriges, as she recounts the experience of completing solar-dyed yarn projects with a group of other fiber-lovers.

In our free guide to dyeing yarn, you will learn the ins and outs of natural dyes, explore dyeing with black walnuts as well as using a natural hot springs to supply mineral mordants, and even get instructions for making a solar dyeing oven. Grab this free download and start learning alongside of experts in the natural dyeing world.